Kansas City Royals (64-52) vs St. Louis Cardinals (59-56)
Game Info: Friday, August 9, 2024 at 8:10 pm (Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium)
The Line: Betting Odds: Kansas City Royals -112 / St. Louis Cardinals -105 — Over/Under: 9
The St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals meet Wednesday in MLB action from Kauffman Stadium. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals prediction.
Starting Pitching Matchup
The St. Louis Cardinals will start Miles Mikolas here and Mikolas is 8-9 with a 5.12 ERA and 86 strikeouts this season. In his career, Mikolas is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 19 strikeouts against Kansas City. Michael Lorenzen will start for the Royals here and is 5-6 with a 3.69 ERA and 80 strikeouts this season. In his career, Lorenzen is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 10 strikeouts against St. Louis.
St. Louis Cardinals Recap
The St. Louis Cardinals come into this one looking to bounce back after failing to complete the sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays despite a 6-4 loss in Thursday’s series finale. The series win was just what the doctor ordered after the Cardinals lost to the Cubs last weekend and lost a makeup game on Monday against the Mets.
Cardinals Trying To Keep Pace In NL Playoff Hunt
Nolan Arenado has 113 hits along with 17 doubles and 51 RBIs while Brendan Donovan has 113 hits and 53 RBIs with 23 doubles. Nolan Gorman has a team-high 19 home runs along with 50 RBIs in addition to 14 doubles while Masyn Winn has a .281 batting average, 114 hits and 10 stolen bases. Paul Goldschmidt also has 135 K’s while Gorman has a team-high 145 strikeouts as well this season. Alec Burleson also has 19 home runs and a team-high 66 RBIs as well this year.
Why the St. Louis Cardinals will win
- The Cardinals have won seven of their last eight games as underdogs following a loss.
- The Royals have lost each of their last seven home games against the Cardinals following a win.
- The Cardinals have covered the run line in each of their last eight games as underdogs following a loss.
- The Royals have failed to cover the run line in six of their last seven home games against the Cardinals following a win.
Kansas City Royals Recap
The Kansas City Royals come into this one hoping to build some momentum after salvaging a win from their series against the Red Sox with an 8-4 victory in Wednesday’s finale. The Royals still lost the three-game set though, snapping their series win streak after knocking off the Tigers and White Sox in the last two weeks.
Royals Still Holding On To AL Playoff Spot
Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 162 hits including 22 home runs, 84 RBIs and team-highs of 10 triples and 33 doubles with 25 stolen bases and a .349 batting average. Salvador Perez also has 20 home runs with 75 RBIs and 20 doubles. Maikel Garcia has 6 home runs, 46 RBIs and 27 stolen bases along with 5 triples and 20 doubles this season. Vinnie Pasquantino has 25 doubles with 17 homers and 84 RBIs of his own on the year.
Why the Kansas City Royals will win
- The Cardinals have lost 12 of their last 13 road games following a home loss.
- The Royals have won 13 of their last 14 Friday home games.
- The Royals have covered the run line in each of their last six games against the Cardinals.
- The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line each of their last four games against AL Central opponents that held a winning record.
Cardinals vs. Royals Recap
I’m on the Royals here. I just don’t like Miles MIkolas as a starting option for the Cardinals and Lorenzen had a decent debut for the Royals last time out. The Royals are still one of the best home teams in baseball despite their stumbles against Boston, and the Cardinals have started to regress and fail to cash in runners in scoring position as of late. All in all I will side with the Royals to draw first blood here.